A mere hours after it was elected as one of the 10 nonpermanent members of the Security Council, Saudia Arabia rejected the coveted United Nations seat, citing a failure to appropriately intervene in the civil war in Syria, Al Jazeera reports.

France also expressed frustration with the Council's "paralysis." (Basil D Soufi, Wikimedia Commons)

In a statement issued through the official Saudi Press Agency, the Saudi Foreign Ministry claimed the Council's failure to act had allowed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime to kill its own citizens with impunity:

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"Allowing the ruling regime in Syria to kill its people and burn them with chemical weapons in front of the entire world and without any deterrent or punishment is clear proof and evidence of the UN Security Council's inability to perform its duties and shoulder its responsibilities," the Ministry said.

The Ministry also pointed to an inability to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over a period of several decades and to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the Middle East.

France, a permanent member of the Security Council, expressed understanding of the Saudi decision, according to Reuters:

"We share their frustration after the paralysis of the Security Council," a foreign ministry spokesperson said.

Read the full story at Al Jazeera.

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